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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Pipeline partiality

Posted
on Thu, Oct 27, 2011 at 4:00 AM

The Washington Post recently published an article on the friendly relationship between the U.S. State Department and TransCanada lobbyist Paul Elliott. According to a series of emails discovered through a Freedom of Information Act Request, the State Department has shown unfair bias in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline.

In one such email, State Department official Marja Verloop writes “Go Paul!” about Elliott’s announcement that he has secured Sen. Max Baucus’s support for the pipeline.

The email exchange even indicates an understanding between TransCanada and the State Department that TransCanada would be able to apply for an operating pressure increase once the pipeline is built. Verloop even relayed the understanding to her boss, U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson, in an email stating “TransCanada is comfortable and on board.”

The State Department is obviously not in a position to make a fair decision on this project. The decision-making authority should be transferred to an agency without a bias in favor of the pipeline.